Unfold
by TeamAustin
Summary: It's supposed to be a stereotypical Gryffindor-Slytherin rivalry between Lucas and Maya, except that it's not. Lucaya AU


As he yawns, still not sure how he made it out of bed this morning, Lucas takes his usual seat at his house's table. His best friend, Zay, mumbles a very grumpy 'good morning' to which Lucas replies to with a snicker.

He takes a mental note:

 _Never_ practice casting charms with your best friend past midnight.

 _Never_ practice casting charms with Zay at all.

A few minutes pass and Lucas seems to be more aware of his surroundings, he feels a nudge on his shoulder, he turns his head to see Charlie, with a beam on his face.

"This is the day you two have been waiting for." Charlie says, "We're all rooting for you."

'Of course,' Lucas mentally groans in frustration, 'Quidditch tryouts had to be today.' he thinks.

Zay's usual morning face quickly changes into a lively one. "I'm pretty sure two spots in the team are already saved for us." Zay says, in confidence that Lucas did not expect at all. "We have the best chaser in Gryffindor right here." He nods towards Lucas.

"I'm just hoping for the best." Lucas half smiles.

He continues eating his breakfast in silence, his eyes wandering around the Great Hall every now and then. He locks eyes with a certain brunette who happens to be sitting at the Hufflepuff table. He widely smiles and raises both eyebrows in greeting, she raises her hands and waves at him, a similar smile forms on her face too. Lucas is positive that he wouldn't have made it this far into Hogwarts, both academically and sociably, without the help of both Riley and Zay.

After all, they have been together since day one. Literally day one.

* * *

 _"I don't want you to worry about going to Hogwarts, Lucas. I can already tell you're going to have so much fun over there. Look, everybody has magic powers just like you!"_ He can still hear his mother's enthusiastic -yet very fake- voice echoing in his head. It did take her a lot of time to get used to the fact the her son is a wizard, and yet she never adapted to it very well. He is a muggle-born after all; he didn't have high expectations of having fully supportive parents.

His first day at Hogwarts was a mess, but he felt relieved that everybody his age seemed to feel the same way. They all had the same expression on their faces as he did. However, his nervousness reached its peak when it was time for the Sorting Hat to determine the house that each student belongs to. He gulped loudly, wiped his sweaty palms on his shirt, and took short breaths. He already decided he did not want to be a Slytherin. Even though he didn't have a lot of background information on any of the four houses, he did notice the Slytherins' attitude towards the rest of the other houses for the past half an hour, and what he saw confirmed the rumors about Slytherins that he heard a lot about during the train ride to Hogwarts. And boy, they were not nice at all.

 _"My daddy says all houses are good."_ He heard a squeaky voice. A brown eyed girl was eyeing him, carefully reading the nervous expression on his face. "Your house doesn't define who you are."

Lucas narrowed his eyes at the brunette, he then anxiously watched the students being sorted.

Apparently, this girl did not take his silence as a sign to stop talking. "My name is Riley."

"I'm Lucas."

"I'm so excited to learn all about potions, they're so interesting." She said, "I want to be a healer in the future." She waited a few moments for a response from him to keep the conversation going on. She sighed at his lack of interaction when she received none. "What do you wanna be when you grow up, Lucas?"

"I don't know.." Lucas shrugged, "I don't like my powers."

"Why?" Riley gasped dramatically, trying to get him to laugh.

"My mom hates it."

"Oh."

"Quidditch looks fun, I guess." He admitted.

Riley lit up as soon as she felt that he was starting to engage in the conversation. He slowly did to her surprise, and they went on and on about how they've noticed their powers as they aged up, their conversation had a lot of muffed giggles and shushes. Riley seemed to have eased Lucas a lot, her friendliness had its impact on him. Unfortunately, Lucas felt all of the effort Riley made went to waste when he got called to the High Table to be sorted. Riley gently patted him on the back reassuringly. He faked bravery as much as he could, but his nervousness was easily noticeable.

 _GRYFFINDOR!_

He smiled in relief.

His first week of school was bearable to say the least; him and Riley, who was sorted into Hufflepuff -he wasn't surprised-, shared a lot of classes together, he was so thankful for that. He'd walk Riley to classes they didn't share, getting to know each other more as each day passes. Her favorite color is purple, she wants to own a pet but her parents don't approve, her father is a History of Magic professor here in Hogwarts, she likes watching sappy romantic movies made by muggles from the 60's, and she might have mentioned purple cats once or twice. Maybe Riley gave an unusual first impression, considering how she tends to babble too often or how she gets overly-friendly, but Lucas never minded getting close to her.

One day, he headed to his Transfiguration class after dropping off Riley at a class of hers. Lucas had gradually gotten familiar with the castle, he knew which route to take for each class, and it was a nice feeling not to be lost in a crowded hallway, especially a crowded hallway full of teenage wizards. A loud wince in pain turned a few heads in the hallway, including his. A slim boy was being pushed to the ground by a group of Slytherins, their appearance gave away that they were first years too. Lucas stopped in his tracks and watched the interaction from further away. The boy, apparently a Gryffindor, tried to stand on his feet to walk away from them but got knocked over again just when he started to regain his balance, another wince followed. Lucas scanned the area for any teacher on hallway patrol, but no one seemed to be nearby. He gathered up the courage, took a deep breath and walked over to stand right in front of the Slytherins.

"Knock it off and go on with your day." Lucas looked at the person ahead of him right in the eye, trying to give out a brave and self assured vibe to everyone around him.

"Why don't you mind your own business?" A blonde Slytherin about half of Lucas' height snarked at him. Lucas let out a loud chuckle at the height difference, which seemed to anger the Slytherin even more, he turned his back to her so that he can help his housemate get up, but he heard a soft voice murmuring something.

"Flipendo"

Lucas was sent to the ground, he felt a blow in his chest, he shut his eyes in pain, and tried his best to not let a groan escape his lips. He was astonished at how easily a first year student cast a jinx. This is was their first week at school for Merlin's sake. As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw the blonde Slytherin smirking at the sight that laid in front of her, gripping her wand in her right hand. Her blue eyes studied him a few times, still smirking. She mimicked his earlier loud chuckle.

"Who's laughing now, Gryff?"

 _Riley's father was sure wrong about this house._

That was how he met Zay, a fellow Gryffindor who admired Lucas's courage to stand up for him -even if he failed to do so-. Not so long after this incident, Riley and Zay became a part of Lucas's day. Lucas was happy to find someone to spend time with in the common room, and Zay was quite a funny guy who did great professor impressions but cringe-worthy knock knock jokes. Riley was the ray of sunshine that drew a warm smile on Lucas' face whenever he had a bad day, and he appreciated the closeness that they shared, he knew that he'd never meet another person with a kinder soul than hers.

The years went on, Lucas grew up, along with Riley and Zay, became a fifth year student. He met new people, became a star Chaser for his house's Quidditch team, and kept a great average score that indicates how well he'd do in his Ordinary Wizarding Level exams. He was satisfied with how well his life has been for him. Throughout the years, the three remained as close as they could. Sometimes, they'd drift away a little bit to focus on personal manners, Riley would join a lot of clubs. Lucas and Zay would be at Quidditch practice, preparing themselves for the upcoming matches. Yet, they all knew that they have each other's backs no matter how busy their lives get.

The years went on, Lucas' hatred for Slytherins grew, with every spiteful comment they'd throw at a Hufflepuff or a first year student, every prank they'd pull on other houses, every dirty foul they committed at a Quidditch match. He hated their arrogant, ignorant behavior, all superior and cunning. That's why he puts in a little more effort when Gryffindor and Slytherin go head to head in a dueling competition or a Quidditch match. Lucas had a strong belief that the qualities that the Slytherins have do not make a great wizard.

The years went on, Lucas despised a certain Slytherin progressively, a blonde Slytherin that has got him in a lot of trouble so many times for things he didn't do, one that would get all the Slytherin table to laugh at something she said about him or one of his friends, one that would gladly take any chance to make fun of his house or his stereotypical Gryffindor attitude, calling him a 'moral compass', a 'huckleberry' -his Texan accent went noticed-. He hated the smirk that was always on her face whenever she'd see him because he knew she enjoys pissing him off.

That Slytherin is Maya Hart.

* * *

As if on cue, Lucas's thoughts are interrupted by a loud, familiar laugh he recognizes. Maya enters the Great Hall among her housemates, laughing about something Brandon has said to them. Lucas scoffs at the sight, 'This morning couldn't get any better.' he thinks. His seat provides him with the best view to watch the Slytherin table, his brows furrow and his eyes follow the blonde as she sits on her table.

"Come on Lucas, get your eyes off of her for a day." Charlie jokes.

"Today is not the day to distract yourself." Zay says. "All you need is your focus, you want to make it to the team this year."

"I really do." Lucas looked away, staring at the empty plate in front of him instead. As soon as he noticed other students leaving the Great Hall a minute later, he got up himself too. "I have to go, I don't wanna be late for my class." He exits the Great Hall, catches a glimpse of his Hufflepuff best friend, and fortunately, has company during his class.

He doesn't feel so fortunate though when Maya sits right behind him.

"Good morning, Gryff." She says, in the most Texan accent she can ever imitate.

He doesn't reply.

The professor begins talking about counter-jinxes, and assigns pairs to practically learn how to end the effect of a jinx, Lucas gets paired with a Gryffindor he's acquainted with.

"One partner is going to jinx the other, the other one is going to attempt to counter-jinx it using the methods I mentioned earlier." The professor speaks calmly, gesturing for the students to start.

Lucas casts a basic jinx at his partner, who seems to take a few minutes in order to counter-jinx and switch turns with Lucas, the whole process goes smoothly for a while, Lucas and his partner switching roles, that is until they hear a loud shriek coming from the other side of the room. Riley has been jinxed so that her tongue is stuck at the top of her throat; she is unable to cast any spell. Being the girl Riley is, she has to scream for help rather than think of a way to end the jinx's effect. He looks over at Riley's partner, who doesn't seem to be putting any effort in helping out the Hufflepuff. Of course, Riley's partner was none other than Maya Hart.

"What the hell is your problem?" Lucas runs across the room.

"What do you have to do with this?" Maya turns to him.

"You're using an advanced jinx on someone who has never counter-jinxed before." Lucas says heatedly.

"It's not my problem your friend here doesn't know jinxes of our level."

"You just love living up to your house's reputation, don't you?"

"Look who's talking?" Maya sneers, "Acting all brave and good. The golden Gryff is here to save the day."

Lucas raises his wand at her without hesitation, " _Locomotor Wibbley._ " Suddenly, Maya collapses on the ground, unable to move her legs at all. Lucas can tell how furious the Slytherin is, seeing her lips pursed and an eyebrow raised.

Maya ignores the numbness that fills her legs, grabs her wand from her robe and casts the first spell that comes across her mind. She makes sure this huckleberry is going to think twice later on before daring to point a wand at her ever again. Luckily, Lucas dodges the jinx just before it hits his chest, he sighs in relief and feels a sense of pride. For once, he beat Maya at her own game, a game full of talk and many spells. Unluckily, the jinx hits the person who stood right behind Lucas. Professor Johnston flies across the room. Almost all students in the classroom can't help themselves but laugh -even Riley, whose tongue was still stuck-, except two people: a Slytherin and a Gryffindor.

They both know they're in trouble.

 **...**

 **It's been a while since I ever wrote anything, just giving this au a shot. I'll keep this going if you guys like it, so tell me what you think! :)**


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